Happy Birthday, Edward (YLOFA)
by Sara K M
Summary: All - human. In 1927, Edward receives a special gift for his tenth birthday.


Happy Birthday, Edward (YLOFA)

 **Disclaimer: I don't own** _ **Twilight.**_

 **This story is part of my "YLOFA" series, which begins with "Young Love in Old - Fashioned America." You can read the other parts of that series if you'd like, but this story should also be able to be read as a stand-alone one – shot.**

Carlisle put the newspaper down as Esme came down the stairs. Edward and Rosalie had finally gone to bed, squabbling all the way, of course. She sighed in relief as she sat down on her rocking chair. "Sometimes those two are worse than cats and dogs. I thought my siblings fought a lot when we were children but…" she shook her head.

Carlisle nodded in agreement. It always amazed him that both Edward and Rosalie had such tempers, considering neither he nor Esme were known for anger. Not all things were meant to be understood by man, he supposed. "Speaking of Edward, what do you think of purchasing a piano for his birthday this year?" Carlisle had been thinking about that for a while now.

"Oh, he'd love it!" Esme's beautiful eyes lit up at the thought of their son receiving such a gift. "You know how much he enjoys playing Eric's piano."

Carlisle smiled. "I'm not certain whether Edward honestly goes over to Eric's house so often because he's Edward's best friend or because of the piano. At least this way, he won't be taking advantage of Eric in any way."

Esme nodded. "Are you certain you can afford it, though?"

Carlisle nodded. "I've been saving for quite some time, actually. And the Upright Steinway piano I am looking at is listed at a good price."

Esme's eyes shined with love as she looked directly at him. "Then it's perfect. This will be a birthday Edward will never forget. We could put it right here," Esme pointed to a corner of the living room which currently held a book shelf.

"Of course," Carlisle replied, trying not to show his disappointment. He loved his son and was looking forward to giving him the piano, but Carlisle wished they could do that without removing those books.

Esme smiled. "Don't worry. I think if we just push the book shelf a little to the right, we could have room for both the piano _and_ the books."

Carlisle sighed with relief.

"So, who should we invite for the party, speaking of Edward's birthday?" asked Esme. "I need to begin preparing soon. Eric, of course. And my parents. Your father, I suppose."

Carlisle sighed at that.

Esme reached over and briefly squeezed his hand in comfort. "I know you two are going through another difficult period, but he loves Edward dearly. He always has."

Carlisle nodded. "I know," he said looking into her eyes as he spoke. I just wish he wouldn't keep pressuring me to join The Klan. I've never been fond of the way my father pressures me into doing things his way, but this…" He shook his head. "It doesn't seem to me that those men are _protecting innocents_ as much as terrorizing people they don't like. I worked with a couple of Jewish doctors in the war, and I don't believe what they do, but I still don't think they are "un – American," "dishonest" or dangerous in anyway."

Esme nodded. "I know. And I'm proud of you for trying to stand up to your father. But Edward will still want to see his grandfather on his birthday."

Carlisle sighed and looked deep into her soft brown eyes. "It's so wonderful to see my father with Edward, and I don't want to deprive either of them of that relationship. But… he has such a tendency to either force me to do things his way or abandon me all together. I'm still not certain I made the right decision to join the army ten years ago, but I'm even more uncomfortable with the Ku Klux Klan than I was with the Great War. What can I do, Esme?"

Esme sighed and stared into his eyes as well. "I don't have all the answers, Carlisle. But I think the only thing you can do is what you are already doing. Keep trying to reach out to your father, especially for Edward's sake, but make certain to stand up for what you think is right, too."

Carlisle nodded. "You're right. Perhaps the Lord will do the rest." He looked up to the heavens for a moment and prayed, " _God, please help my relationship with my father_."

"But moving on with the party" said Esme, smiling as she tried to focus on happier topics. "What about Ben? Is Edward still close to him?"

Carlisle shook his head. "You would know more than I do about that, Esme. With the long hours I have currently of year at the hospital, I'm afraid I don't know all of Edward and Rosalie's friends. You should probably ask them."

Esme nodded. "And Nathan and Alice, as well, I think. Edward is so sweet with little Alice."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

OOOOOOOOOO

This was the greatest birthday Edward had ever had, and probably every _would_ have. Father had bought him a piano! It was delivered last night, and today it sat in our living room, just waiting for him to place his hands on the keys and unlock its music.

After he'd finished his breakfast, Edward immediately ran to the piano and began playing some of the things Eric had tried to teach him on his instruments. The ivory keys felt perfect under his hands and the music that came out of it was even better.

Edward lost himself in the music and had no idea how long the music spoke to him when his stupid sister, Rosalie interrupted him. "You can't use that yourself _all the time_ , Edward! I want to play the piano, too." She had her hands on her hips, as if that made what she said more important or something.

"Rosalie, Father bought this piano for _my birthday_! So, I can play whenever I want." He stuck out his tongue at her and quickly returned to the music.

But that darn Rosalie didn't let him! "Well, Mother said I could take lessons if I wanted as well. So there!" She stuck her tongue back out at him.

"Children," said Charlotte, the girl Mother and Father had hired to help around the house in exchange for attending school in the city. "Calm down a little."

 _Children?_ "Please, you're only, like five years older than I am," Edward said arrogantly.

"Just go back to your dusting," Rosalie added, trying to sound just as arrogant as he had.

Edward hated when she talked like that. _He_ was the big brother after all, and he intended to show that to Rosalie. "Mother, Rosalie said she could take lessons to play the piano! But's my piano!"

He called, raising his voice so his mother could hear them from the kitchen. From the smell coming from that direction, Edward knew his mother was making his birthday cake.

Mother came in to the living room, shaking her head. "We did by the piano primarily for you, Edward. And your father and I are overjoyed that you are already relishing your gift. But if Rosalie would like to take piano lessons as well, then yes, she may do so."

Rosalie grinned at him smugly.

"Mother!" Edward protested. How could she possibly let his bratty, stupid sister touch _his_ piano?

"Edward, move over," his sister commanded. She leaned over to get a closer look at the piano, her blonde hair falling all over her face. "It's my turn to try the piano."

But to Edward's delight, Mother shook her head. "I did say you could take piano, lessons, Rosalie. But I also said this piano _was_ Edward's birthday present. And considering this is his birthday, he should be allowed to play it today." With that, Mother returned to the kitchen to finish the birthday cake.

Rosalie stormed off, but Edward barely heard her, as he quickly lost himself in the world of music again.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sometime after lunch, Father arrived with Grandpa Cullen. Edward was so excited that Father had managed to take time off from the hospital to come to his birthday party. And although Grandpa Cullen could be a bit strict, Edward enjoyed spending time with him as well. It was too bad they were arguing again though.

"… Carlisle, I think you need to understand your priorities," Grandpa Cullen said in that deep voice that made people afraid to disagree with him.

"Father, I said, _no_ ," Carlisle replied as he came in behind the white – haired man. Edward looked at his father with fascination. How could he possibly say "no" when Grandpa Cullen used _that_ voice?

"But they'll help you protect your family, Carlisle. We can't trust those kinds of people, so who knows what might happen your wife and children," Grandpa Cullen argued back in the same voice, looking deliberately at Edward, who was still seated at his new piano.

Then he smiled a little and said, "Happy birthday, Edward. You've received a marvelous gift this year, I see. Can you play me something?"

Edward beamed. "Yes, it's a gift from Father and it's the best gift I've ever had! I haven't had any official lessons yet, but I've been trying to play what I remember my friend Eric taught me." With that, he began to play one of the songs he'd been practicing.

Father and Grandpa Cullen both leaned up against the piano to listen.

"Why don't you play using sheet music?" Grandpa Cullen asked after listening for several moments. "That's the proper way to play the piano. You could play beautiful hymns that way."

Of course, Grandpa Cullen, the minister, would want him to play hymns. "I haven't learned how to read music yet. But Father says I will when I begin taking lessons soon," Edward explained, a bit disappointed Grandpa Cullen wasn't happy with the music he'd already played.

Father smiled silently and nodded at Edward.

"I see," Grandpa Cullen replied at the same time. "Well I look forward to you playing hymns soon." Still, he continued to listen as Edward played what he'd already remembered Eric showing him and experimenting what sounded nice to his ears.

Soon, more guests arrived. First it was Ben. "Hi Edward! Did you really get a _piano_ for your birthday?" the boy asked as he wandered in with a smile on his face.

"Yes! I can barely believe it, either!" Edward replied, looking back at the instrument with awe.

Then it was little cousin Alice. She was five years younger than Edward, but he'd always thought she was adorable and loved having her around. She was certainly more fun than Rosalie. "Hi Edward!" she bounced as she came in the door. "Happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday!"

"Hi Alice," Edward replied, leaning over to her height. "Thank you for coming to my party."

Alice leaned over and hugged him in reply.

"Alice!" interrupted Rosalie, as usual. "Do you want to play dolls?" Alice's eyes lit up and ran over to his annoying sister. Edward was just about to complain that Rosalie was trying to steal part of his birthday again, when cousin Nathan came barreling into the house.

"Edward!" he said in a loud voice that was much more fun to listen to than Grandpa Cullen's. "Hi, birthday boy!" he gave Edward a slap on the back. "Heard you got a piano for your birthday, cousin."

"Yes, I did. Isn't it great?" he pointed to the shiny wooden instrument with beautiful ivory keys.

Nathan shrugged. "It's nice, but we need to get you back out to the country, city boy. Climb some trees with me. Your arms are too skinny," he laughed.

Edward laughed too, knowing his cousin didn't mean anything by that comment. He was always joking around. Edward thought it was really nice that Nathan was so funny, especially considering he didn't have a father. He didn't really understand what had happened Nathan's father, Uncle Alan, who was also Mom's older brother. Supposedly, Uncle Alan was still alive, but people didn't really talk about him. He hadn't lived with Nathan and Aunt Amy for as long as Edward could remember.*

Edward couldn't imagine what it was like for Nathan not to have a father to come home at the end of the day. A father who would look at him with pride after he showed his report card. A father to give you perfect gifts on your birthday. He paused to smile at his own father again, silently thanking him for the piano. But Edward had a feeling he'd be angry all the time, instead of a being happy and joking all the time, like Nathan.

"Maybe I will try climbing trees, but for now, you have to listen to me play!" Edward sat back down at the piano and let the music flow from his fingertips.

Yet he'd barely started playing when Eric came in the door. "Hi Edward. Happy birthday," said his best friend.

"Hi, Eric," Edward replied, eager to see his best friend again. "Look, Father gave me a piano for my birthday! It's even better than yours. See how shinny the wood is?" He ran his fingers along the brown surface to demonstrate.

Eric shrugged and did the same. "Maybe but my piano is still bigger."

Edward shook his head. "Well, the sound is better on mine. Listen." With that, he sat down and put his fingers on the keys again. A beautiful melody filled the room, and all Edward could hear was the way the keys blended together as he pressed on them. "See?" he turned to Eric a few minutes later.

"That was lovely, Edward," said Mother and the rest of the room nodded as well. Perhaps even Rosalie moved her head up and down a bit, although he wasn't certain.

"Now, would everyone like birthday cake?"

"Cake!" said cousin Alice, clapping her hands and jumping up and down.

"It smells tasty, Mrs. Cullen," Eric agreed.

Ben was already heading for the kitchen.

"Of course, Mother," said Edward, nodding his head at her in return. The best part of his tenth birthday was definitely his piano, but Mother's chocolate cake was always delicious, too.

* **At the end of "Trials of World War I," Alan was suffering from shell – shock (period term for PTSD) and was sent to an institution, as people didn't know how to treat that condition in this time.**

 **This may be my last** _ **Twilight**_ **story, at least for a long time. But you're welcome to read my other** _ **Twilight**_ **stories if you haven't done so already. I have a list of all of them (both canon one – shots and my YLOFA series) listed on my profile in chronological order.**

 **If you don't mind reading other fandoms, I have a couple of multi – chapter stories that I've just started.**

 **One is a one – shot series for** _ **Once Upon a Time**_ **, that focuses on Snowing and the Charming family if they were able to raise their family in the Enchanted Forest. It's called "A Royal Shepherd Family."**

 **The other is a** _ **Sound of Music**_ **story that takes place in the US after the end of World War II and focuses on some of the challenges their family faces. It's called "Cracks in the von Trapp Family."**


End file.
